The government should not establish a national religion, but faith should be a primary guide for the president, leading Republican candidates for the office believe.

All say their Christian faith would guide their decisions if elected and they would limit efforts to pull religion from government.

The Republican candidates generally agree that Congress and the U.S. Supreme Court have gone too far in limiting prayer in schools and other displays of religion on public property.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry described separation of church and state as “a one-way wall that protects churches and religious groups from undue government interference. This does not imply, as modern liberals claim, that all mentions of God or religion must be completely removed from the public arena.”

Newt Gingrich of Georgia, former speaker of the House, called those who push for stronger separation of church and state “secular fanatics” who have abused the courts into “creating a new standard which is totally false.”

While unanimity reigns on the subject in the Republican field, such views are far from universal. Some theologians and political scientists argue that GOP rhetoric regarding church and state is simply an appeal to evangelical Christian voters who may play a key role in the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses.

In a late November Iowa Poll, 38 percent of likely caucusgoers identified themselves as born-again or fundamentalist Christians.

“You can’t win with only them, but you can’t win without them,” he said.
Constitution viewed in different ways

Goldford, however, also believes efforts to infuse more Christianity into government violate both the spirit and letter of the Constitution.

“What ultra-conservative evangelicals are seeking is official endorsement and legitimization of Christianity as the one true religion,” he said.

“No one is stopping anyone from praying in schools or reading the Bible,” Goldford continued. “What the courts have ruled is that prayer organized by schools is out of bounds. If the principal of the school said, ‘Let’s have a Muslim prayer today,’ this would not sit well with evangelicals.’”

The libertarian-leading U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, who seeks to limit the scope of the federal government to responsibilities authorized in the Constitution, said prayer and religious display are not matters for the federal government to be involved with.

“Unfortunately, nowadays, it seems many in our federal government go out of their way to eradicate any influence of religion in the public square,” Paul said. “I strongly disagree with these efforts. Questions such as whether prayer should be allowed in school, or whether towns can display manger scenes during Christmas, should be decided by local governments — not by federal judges, bureaucrats or members of Congress.”
Religion questions have arisen before

Discussions of religious influence on the presidency have threaded their way through previous campaigns.

When then-Sen. John F. Kennedy campaigned for the White House in 1960, many U.S. Protestants worried Kennedy would answer to the Roman Catholic pope ahead of the American people.

Kennedy tried to assuage those fears in a September 1960 speech delivered before a group of Protestant ministers in Houston. He affirmed his belief in “an America where separation is an absolute.”

If “the time should ever come … when my office would require me to either violate my conscience or violate the national interest, then I would resign the office,” Kennedy said.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney shared some solidarity with Kennedy, a Democrat, in a 2007 speech in which he addressed his religion as a follower of the Mormon tradition in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Romney’s campaign submitted excerpts from the speech, delivered in College Station, Texas, in response to Register questions about faith and government.

“No religion should dictate to the state, nor should the state interfere with the free practice of religion,” Romney said in 2007. “But in recent years, the notion of the separation of church and state has been taken by some well beyond its original meaning. They seek to remove, from the public domain, any acknowledgment of God. … They’re wrong.”
Faith discourse sought; exclusion is feared

But former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum said that Kennedy was wrong in declaring an absolute separation between church and state and that Kennedy’s Houston speech “did a true disservice to this nation.”

“Our founders never intended to create such a separation … they were more concerned about protecting the church from the state,” Santorum said. “You should bring your faith in the public square. … (It) was our founders’ intent that we should have a vibrant public discourse — between people of faith and people of no faith.”

U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota believes the First Amendment has erected a wall between church and state, “a protection for Americans to choose to worship without infringement by the government.” She agrees with Santorum, however, that the phrase “separation of church and state” has been “commonly misinterpreted to keep religion out of public life.”

Other observers, like Drake’s Goldford, see GOP crusading on faith in the public square as crossing a line into elevating Protestant Christian views to the exclusion of other faiths.

“There is definitely an effort to appeal to those who would create a Christian society,” said the Rev. Welton Gaddy, a Baptist minister from Louisiana and president of Interfaith Alliance, an organization that advocates separation of church and state. “It is not enough for the evangelic movement for a candidate to say he or she believes in Jesus. They have to agree with evangelicals on all key points. And the evangelical Christian vision does not include Catholics, devotees of Islam or Jews.”

“It’s a part of my worldview just like anyone, whether you have faith or no faith at all. My faith is very much in line with the founders. They were people of faith as well.”

NEWT GINGRICH

“I pray before most speeches, and I’d certainly pray before most major decisions. I think in that sense it plays a major role. I certainly want to try to understand what a faithful believer would do in the broad sense, and in that sense it has had a profound impact. I think you will see in this campaign, for example, a much more emphatic emphasis on trying to help the very poor truly be able to pursue happiness as they’ve been endowed by their Creator, and that probably is a function in part of just constantly thinking about all the lessons in the Bible.”

RON PAUL

“My political philosophy is rooted in the belief that our rights come from our Creator, not the government. Therefore, the government may not violate those rights. My Christian faith strengthens my resolve to limit the size and scope of the federal government to those few powers granted by the Constitution and to stop all violations of our God-given rights to life, liberty and property.”

RICK SANTORUM

“My faith in God defines me. And as a man and as a public official, I approach every decision through that faith and through reason. If your faith is true and your reason is right — the ultimate decision will be explainable and good for the nation. As president, the American people might not always agree with me, but they will know that my faith in God and my logical reasoning shape my conscience, my values and my worldview. Both teach me to love my God and love my neighbor — and that love undoubtedly translates into empowering the American family, building economic freedom, protecting this country and supporting her allies.”

RICK PERRY

“My Christian faith is at the core of who I am. It informs my most deeply held beliefs and my overall worldview. That would be true whether I was a private citizen or the president, because I do not believe it is possible to set aside our faith when we enter the public square. One teaching I am particularly mindful of is the notion that someday I must stand and give an account of my life.”

MITT ROMNEY

“I was taught in my home to honor God and love my neighbor. My faith is grounded on these truths. … (Our) aspirations, our values, are the self-same as those from the other faiths that stand upon this common foundation. And these convictions will indeed inform my presidency.” (Comments are from a speech given in December 2007 and were submitted by the Romney campaign in response to the question.)